Can I Talk To You?
by AgentOklahoma
Summary: Summary-Every time Cardin asked to talk with someone from JNPR or RWBY, something strange happened between he and Jaune. Jaune just wants answers but the only person that can give them, won't say anything.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

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"Jaune, are you planning on eating that or just cutting it until it's paste?"

Jaune Arc looked up from his massacred plate of chicken and peas at his red-headed teammate, Pyrrha who was looking at him with a mix of confusion and concern. The blonde hunter-in-training looked down at his plate again, realising that he had indeed been just mindlessly cutting up his food, his mind elsewhere and the small twing in his gut told him he wasn't really hungry.

"Just cutting it, I guess," Jaune replied with a weak attempt at a smile, putting his cutlery down and pushing his plate away.

"Are you okay?" his friend asked, no longer paying attention to the animated conversation going on between their team, JNPR, and the team across the table, Team RWBY, the din from the rest of the dining hall giving their conversation a modicum of privacy. Jaune shrugged his shoulders, not wanting to worry his teammate but also not wanting to unload his problems onto her.

"It's nothing. Just feeling off, I guess," he said vaguely, looking up at Pyrrha, just to see that her eyes were trained on something over his shoulder, her face set in a disapproving frown. Jaune turned to see what she was looking at and almost fell off the bench when he was met with the black clothed, steel and gold trim armoured chest of his daily tormenter, Cardin Winchester.

"Nikos, I need to talk to you," the burnt umber haired boy said stiffly as if speaking to anyone from team JNPR caused him physical pain. Pyrrha's frown deepened as she looked at him.

"In civilised society, there's this thing called 'asking' when you want someone to do something for you," Pyrrha replied politely but there was something in her tone that said she wasn't afraid to hurt this boy. Cardin's jaw clenched visibly and his hands curled into fists at his sides.

"Please can I talk to you? In private," Cardin asked through his teeth, the second part tacked on hastily. Pyrrha nodded, telling everyone she'd be back in a minute and following Cardin to the entrance to the dining hall, then out of the doors. Everyone stopped their conversations just to come up with theories about what the school bully wanted with their warrior girl.

"Maybe he likes her," Blake suggested and Yang let out a bark of laughter.

"If he tells her that, I can guarantee he'll be going right to the infirmary with a broken nose. Pyrrha hates that douchebag," the blonde girl said, taking a sip of her water.

"Maybe he needs notes for a class," Ruby piped up.

"If he wanted notes, why not ask Weiss?" Ren asked, trying and succeeding in ignoring Nora as she 'booped' his nose out of boredom.

"I refused to give them to him when he asked the first time. He wants to pass, he takes his own notes. He has been since I yelled at him," the white haired girl answered, not looking up from her history book.

Sometime during their theorising, Pyrrha had returned to the dining hall, a look of dazed confusion on her face as she sat down on the bench between Ren and Jaune. There was silence between the two groups as they watched her sit, then watched as Cardin strode by their spot to where team CRDL always sat, not sparing a glance over to the other two teams.

"So?" Yang prompted, forcing Pyrrha out of her spaced out state to see that everyone was staring at her in anticipation.

"Sorry?" she asked.

"What did he want?" Ruby asked and Pyrrha just bit her lip and furrowed her brow in thought as she went back to eating her dinner.

"He just wanted some advice," she replied vaguely.

"Advice on...?" Nora tried to get to her elaborate but the red-head shook her head, swallowing her mouthful of mashed potato.

"I can't tell," Pyrrha answered, just to be bombarded with more and more questions from the others. Jaune remained silent, looking over at team CRDL, three out of four of the members laughing and smiling with those evil smirks they constantly had plastered on their faces but Cardin just sat there, silently eating his food and staring at an empty spot on the table.

Something was bothering him.

_'Makes two of us_,' Jaune thought as he turned his concentration back to his friends.

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The mystery conversation between Pyrrha and Cardin remained interesting to the two teams for about a day, then everyone returned to their own little worlds.

Jaune was on his way back from the library, a massive pile of books in his arms as he made his way back to team JNPR's dorm room, struggling until he tripped over the ends of his jeans and was sent tumbling to the floor, the books toppling and spreading out on the floor. The blonde groaned as he started collecting the books, just for a shadow to emerge and another set of hands to start helping pick up the books. Jaune looked up and was met with the hard gaze of Cardin, the indigo eyed boy's face set in an unrecognizable expression.

"Um, thanks," Jaune stammered as he stood up, reaching out to get the books back, assuming Cardin would just shove them back at him. Instead, the taller boy held onto them with one hand, the other reaching out to wrap around Jaune's arm and pull him along. Jaune remained silent, just staring at the back of Cardin's head as they walked, or in Jaune's case, was dragged along, and finally reach team JNPR's room.

"Here," Cardin said simply, handing the books to Jaune and opening the dorm room door for him. Jaune was in shock, just staring at him as if he'd grown another head.

"Jaune? Is that you?" Pyrrha asked from the room while Nora yammered on to Ren about something.

"Uh, yeah," Jaune called, turning his head to look in the room as Pyrrha came to the door. Just as Jaune looked back to thank Cardin again, he realised the other boy wasn't there, instead he was walking down the hall with his hands shoved in his pockets.

"Was that-?"

"Yep."

"What was he doing?" Pyrrha asked, helping Jaune put the books down on one of the room's desks.

"He...He helped me carry my books," Jaune said, frowning in confusion. Pyrrha was oddly silent so Jaune looked at her just to see her eyes widened in surprise. "What?" the blonde asked but Pyrrha snapped out of it and shook her head.

"It's nothing. Come on, Nora made coffee," Pyrrha said, returning to their cushioned study circle. Jaune hesitated for a moment before he joined them with a book from the pile.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

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After the incident, because all strange, Cardin-related things that occurred were called 'incidents' between team JNPR and RWBY, with the books, things went back to normal. At least for a few days.

"Belladonna. Can I talk to you?"

Their group went silent when the oddly familiar question was asked by, once again, Cardin who looked a little less pained to be asking for assistance, probably because he didn't really have any issues with Blake. The dark haired girl stood and followed after him while the others stared.

"Okay, this is getting weird. Pyrrha, now you have to tell us what he asked you," Yang said, pointing her fork at the red-head.

"I can't. And even if he didn't make me swear not to say anything, I probably wouldn't anyway. It's his business," Pyrrha gently chided the blonded. Yang frown and stared at the door, waiting for their teammate to return. Eventually Blake came back to the table, the same confused expression that Pyrrha had when the first incident occurred on her face.

"What did he say?" Weiss asked, finally looking up from her book, a look of curiosity on her face.

"I can't say. I promised not to tell," Blake replied, looking at Pyrrha. The pair shared a strange look and a nod before going back to their previous conversations. And like last time, Cardin came back into the dining hall and sat with his team, remaining silent as he stared at the table and ate slowly. Jaune swore if he kept staring at the table with such an intense look of concentration, the damn thing would probably go up in flames.  
But Jaune tried not to think about it and went back to talking with his friends, not noticing when a pair of indigo eyes trained themselves on him and didn't leave until their next class.

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Their next class was history with Professor Ooblek and it had Jaune's head in a spin. Mostly because he spent a little too much effort concentrating on where the teacher was standing and had trouble focusing on what he was saying.

"So, what, Mr Arc, helped the Hunters and Huntresses win the Beowulf War?" Professor Oobleck asked, making the blonde sit up straight and stammer in an attempt to respond before he realised he didn't know the answer. Despite that being the topic of today's class. As Oobleck took a sip of his coffee, something landed in Jaune's lap, appearing to be just a scrunched up ball of paper. Upon further inspection, it seemed to be a quickly scrawled sentence in messy handwriting and a barely legible shorthand but answered Oobleck's question nonetheless.

"A storm came in and there was a mudslide. It killed more than half of their numbers and trapped the ones that lived. They managed to kill or capture the rest after three days," Jaune answered finally, only 'storm made mudslide, 1/2+ dead' written on the notepaper but it was enough to jog his memory and recall the details in the lecture.

"Good, Mr Arc. And so that brings us to the end of today's class. Remember, the next assignment is due-" Professor Oobleck addressed the class while Jaune looked back down at the note, looking around for whoever had written it. He spotted Blake looking at the person in the seat behind him and turned around, seeing Cardin with his feet up on the desk, a blank expression on his face as he stared back. Blake nodded and turned around to talk to Yang while Cardin turned his gaze back to the front of the room, realising Jaune was staring at him.

"What?" He snapped, moving his feet off the desk and packing up his things.

"N-Nothing," Jaune replied, doing the same and standing from his desk. Cardin shouldered his backpack and stalked out of the classroom while the blonde just watched, then looked back at Blake who was now giving Pyrrha a significat look. Jaune ran up to them and pulled them aside after they'd walked out of the classroom.

"What did Cardin say to you guys?" he asked and they shared another look that just annoyed Jaune. "Don't do that thing. Right after he talked to each of you, he did something weird and I wanna know why," Jaune demanded.

"Jaune, we promised we wouldn't tell and we're standing by it. If he wants to tell people, he will do it himself. Until then, we're respecting his wishes," Blake said calmly while Pyrrha just nodded in agreement.

"Alright," Jaune said with a small sigh as he turned and walked towards his next class.

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Jaune didn't really see Cardin again that day until he was on his way back to his dorm room after a very intense study session with Weiss that left his head aching and his wrist cramping from all the note taking. It wasn't really seeing the other boy as much as it was walking right into him and then falling on his ass.

Jaune looked up from his spot on the floor to see Cardin in a more casual dark grey Beacon Academy hoodie and a pair of black sweats, probably on his way to the school's gym. Jaune did a double take and he swore for a moment there, right before the signature scowl set in place, Cardin looked absolutely terrified.

"You didn't hurt yourself, did you?" Cardin mumbled with something that, if Jaune didn't know any better, sounded like concern. "I've heard that that Valkyrie girl wants to break my legs. Seems like she'd do it too if I did anything to her precious leader," Cardin said bitingly, hesitating for a moment before sticking his hand out stiffly.

'He's helping you up, idiot,' a part of Jaune's brain supplied oh-so-helpfully, prompting Jaune to reach out and take the other boy's hand, letting himself be pulled up so he was standing.

"N-no, I'm fine. Just have a bit of a headache but its 'cause Weiss is just crazy about her studying and when she studies with you, it's like you're at war and she always yells and throws things if you say something that's wrong and I'm just gonna...shut up...now," Jaune trailed off awkwardly from his rant when he realised who it was he was talking to and there was an awkward silence that felt suffocating until Jaune managed to break it.

"So, um. I'm gonna go to my room. Sleep. And stuff. Have fun working out. And stuff," Jaune stammered before he rushed off to his team's room. If he'd looked behind him, he would have seen Cardin with a bottle of painkillers in his hand, having pulled them out of his bag to offer them to the blonde boy but Jaune had rushed off before he could say a word.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

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"Please tell me, I swear on Magnhild, I won't tell a soul."

Nora's voice pulled Jaune from sleep, at some ungodly early hour if the light seeping in through the window was any indication.

"I promised Cardin I wouldn't," Pyrrha replied in a quiet voice, being considerate of their sleeping teammates. Or, teammate, since Ren was likely to still be asleep, being the only one immune to Nora's unnaturally loud voice. At the mention of Cardin's name, Jaune froze, just listening to his two female teammates talk. It seemed like Pyrrha was being worn down.

"Pleeeeeease, pleasepleasepleaseplease," Nora pestered the red-head and just as Jaune was at his breaking point before he shut Nora up himself, he heard a quiet 'okay' from Pyrrha.

"You have to swear you won't tell anyone. Especially Jaune," Pyrrha said, making the blonde tense in his bed. Why especially him? What was it that Cardin didn't want him to know?

"I promise. Tell me, tell me, tell me," the pink and white clothed girl said and Jaune could almost hear her bouncing up and down where she was.

"Okay, just shh. Cardin asked me how to get closer to Jaune," Pyrrha whispered, only just loud enough for Jaune to hear.

"Closer to Jaune? Why?...Oh my god, does he-?" Nora cut herself off, probably making some sort of hand gesture instead of saying the words. It didn't really matter unless she was right.

"Yeah. He does," Pyrrha confirmed and Jaune cursed her ability to decipher Nora's strange hand signals.

"Oh my god that's so cute!" Nora shrieked. Cute? What? Jaune resisted the urge to move or speak, waiting for them to reveal what it was that was so 'cute' about Cardin wanting to get closer to...

_'Does Cardin...like me_?' Jaune thought, his breath catching in his throat at the thought. No, that couldn't be it. Could it?

"Guys! It's morning! Come down for breakfast!" Yang's booming voice called from outside the room and it helped Jaune start to breathe again.

"We'll be right out!" Pyrrha replied, her footsteps getting closer to Jaune's bed until he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder, shaking him to 'wake him up'. Jaune opened his eyes and rolled over, pretending to yawn and stretch while Nora attempted to wake Ren out of his coma-like sleep.

"Morning. Too late for breakfast?" Jaune asked, hoping Pyrrha didn't notice that he was far to awake to have just woken up then. Thankfully, she didn't seem to notice and just smiled in response.

"No, right on time. Come on, it's Sunday so no classes. Team RWBY wanted us to go to the lake nearby with them," the red-head reminded him before finding something to wear for the day. Thankfully it was a casual day so no heavy, constricting fighting clothes or stiff uniforms. Jaun rolled himself out of bed and picked up the first thing he saw, being a pair of light blue jeans and a white long sleeved shirt that was always a little big on him. The sleeves were long enough for him to cover the palms of his hands and the collar was worn out and wide, showing off his collar bone or even hanging off a shoulder if he didn't keep it in place. But it was comfortable so screw style.

"Come on or Yang and Ruby are gonna eat all the good stuff," Nora called, rushing out the door with a still drowsy Ren on her heels. Pyrrha followed after, pausing at the door for a moment and glancing towards Jaune before leaving as well. Jaune got changed in record time, making his way down the hall to the dining room, accidentally bumping into someone on the way.

"Oh, sorry," Jaune said, sparing the person a glance and an apologetic smile when, as luck would have it, Cardin looked down at him with a glare and the slightest baring of teeth until he realised who it was that had bumped into him, then his expression faded into a blank slate with a hint of anxiety.

"Don't worry about it, Arc," Cardin mumbled and the pair continued on their way to the dining hall, unknowingly keeping pace with each other. Jaune kept glancing at the taller boy as they walked together, trying to work out how to ask him about such a delicate matter without being a bumbling idiot like he normally was.

"So...do you...like anyone here at Beacon?" Jaune asked, trying to sound as casual as possible but it was apparently not casual enough because Cardin was so startled by the question he tripped over his own feet and fell to the floor.

"N-No...I need to go," Cardin said stiffly, picking himself up off the ground and stalking off towards the dining hall, leaving Jaune in the hallway, pale as a ghost at the realisation that Cardin's face, or at least what he could see of it before he'd practically bolted, was tinged pink with a blush.

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Jaune sprinted into the dining hall, ignoring his friends' greetings and just grabbing Blake and Pyrrha by the arms and dragging them out of the room.

"Jaune, what are you-"

"IknowCardinlikesme," Jaune said in such a rush that the girls had to take a moment to understand him.

"Wait, you know?" Pyrrha asked and Jaune, after finally taking a moment to breathe, managed to speak normally.

"I overheard you and Nora this morning. I came up with a theory and I tested it," the blonde admitted, fiddling with the ends of his sleeves.

"What do you mean by 'tested'?" Blake asked, looking a little worried.

"I asked him if he liked anyone and he just...tripped over and blushed and said he didn't and ran away from me. I'm right, aren't I? He has a...a c-crush on me?" Jaune asked and the girls shared a look.

"Stop with the looks. Am I right?" Jaune repeated and there was a moment's pause before Pyrrha nodded.

"You're right. When he asked to talk to me he wanted to know how to try to get a little closer to you. I just told him to be a little nicer. Stop pushing you around and help you," Pyrrha admitted.

"He asked me for ideas on nice things to do for you. I suggested that since you always get picked for answers in history class that he could help you answer those questions since you always seem so embarrassed if you get it wrong," Blake said and Jaune bit his lip, pacing back and forth in front of the two girls.

"So...what are you going to do?" Pyrrha asked, watching her team leader in his moment of internal panic. "Do you think you like him back?" she added, making Jaune stop his pacing.

"I don't know."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

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When Jaune was finished with his minor panic-attack at the idea of someone like Cardin being attracted to him, he, Pyrrha and Blake returned to the dining hall and sat with their friends, chatting and eating while Jaune occasionally glanced over at team CRNL, watching as Cardin tormented anyone who passed with far more aggression than normal.

"You need to talk to him. You two need to have an adult conversation about this," Blake said, keeping her voice low and leaning in to hopefully keep the others out of the conversation.

"And what? I don't even know how I feel about it. What if I just make everything worse?" Jaune asked, staring down at his plate.

"Then tell him you're not sure. Give him a chance to prove he's not as awful as he seems. We might even get to see a slightly human side of him," Pyrrha joked good-naturedly with a small, reassuring smile on her face. Jaune returned it, albeit, a little awkwardly before nodding. He was finished with his food and from the way Cardin has thrown his last hash brown across the room at a random student, Jaune guessed he was done too.

The blonde stood up, feeling brave at the beginning but lost more and more of his nerve with every step towards the other boy until he was tugging nervously at his sleeves and stammering as he spoke.

"C-Can I talk to you?" Jaune stuttered to Cardin. The indigo eyed boy looked up at him with surprise before fixing him with an unreadably expression like nearly every other time they'd interacted directly with each other.

"Alright," Cardin said stiffly. He was far too stiff recently. Too nervous around Jaune. He shouldn't be nervous around him. He'd look nice if he just smiled. Jaune banished the blush-inducing thoughts and led the way to the doors out of the dining hall, closing them before turning towards Cardin, but definitely not brave enough to look him in the eye yet.

"So what did you want to talk abo-"

"I know."

There was silence that made Jaune feel like he was drowning and he could practically feel the stress emanating off of Cardin. It was likely his aura, reacting to his emotional state. Jaune braved a look but Cardin's face was expressionless. His aura spoke differently, making Jaune feel tense himself and afraid of what Cardin would do.

"Know what?" Cardin said, his voice coming out a little coarse.

"I know that you...have feelings for me," Jaune elaborated and the aura intensified.

"So Belladonna or Nikos told you?" Cardin growled, making Jaune flinch.

"No. I worked it out myself," the blonde boy answered and suddenly the pressure and heat in the room dimished, allowing Jaune to breathe a little more easily.

"So...what are you...I mean...do you-?" Cardin stumbled over his words, staring at the wall beside him instead of at Jaune.

"I don't know. It's not like we've hung out or spent any time together where you weren't torturing me," Jaune stated bluntly, making Cardin flinch a little. "But we could, I don't know...spend more time together? See if you really...like me and if I..." Jaune trailed off, still not entirely comfortable about the conversation.

There was another moment of silence, Jaune mustering up the courage to look Cardin in the eye just the see the other boy staring at him with that same unreadable expression, his hand twitching a little, moving as if he wanted to do something.

And he did. One moment, Jaune was standing in front of Cardin in the hallway, the next, he was pressed against the wall with Cardin's tongue halfway down his throat. This was a boy used to just taking what he wants and the fact that he kept a hold of himself for this long spoke volumes on how much he wanted Jaune to like him in return but self-restraint can only be pushed so far. Jaune closed his eyes, returning the kiss and letting Cardin lead, a small sigh escaping his lips.

It took a moment for Jaune to work through the surprise and arousal to realise what they were doing. Right outside the dining hall. The blonde managed to raise his hands a little, enough to press them to Cardin's chest and attempt to push him back but the taller boy wouldn't budge, if anything, he moved closer, slotting a leg between Jaune's. When a hand slipped underneath his shirt, grazing the skin just above the waistband of his jeans, Jaune's hand instinctively snapped down to the shield he constantly had attached to him in its shrunken state, releasing it so it expanded in front of him, giving him a very real barrier between himself and Cardin.

"What the hell was that for, Arc?" Cardin snapped, annoyed at being pushed away.

"'Spend time together' doesn't mean 'molest me in the hall'," Jaune panted, his cheeks flushed a deep red from embarrassment, and likely some oxygen deprivation.

"You seemed okay with it a second ago, you were practically on top of me," Cardin sneered, looming over him in an attempt to intimidate Jaune, pushing at the shield so he could rest his hands on Jaune's hips again, one shifting around, creeping into the back pocket of his jeans, pulling him closer by the hips, despite Jaune's attempt to push him back again with his free hand. "What is it, wimp? Don't like that you're the girl? Or maybe that people'll realise you just want my d-"

A moment later, Cardin's face was stinging and Jaune was stalking back down the hall towards his team's dorm room, his shield in its compact state again and a scowl on his face.

"Jaune!" the voice of his red-headed teammate called from behind him but he didn't turn around. "Jaune, what happened? Cardin looked really angry," Pyrrha asked, catching up to her friend and matching his pace.

"I punched him," Jaune replied sharply.

"You punched him?" the warrior-girl asked in shock, following him to their door. Jaune fumbled with the doorknob for a moment, his hands shaking in anger.

"Yes. I punched him. In the face. Really hard," Jaune said as he grabbed his combat clothes, stomping into the bathroom to change. He came back out and grabbed his sword as well as a duffle bag.

"Where are you going?" Pyrrha asked, Nora and Ren walking in the door themselves with similar looks of confusion.

"Jaune, what happened? You walked off with Cardin and never came back. We thought he'd killed you but Ren told me he didn't have tim to hide the body and come back so I wasn't allowed to break his legs just yet," Nora ranted as Jaune pulled on his sneakers, another person appearing behind Ren and Nora.

"Arc, come back and talk to me," Cardin ordered from outside the door.

"Oh, and he followed us back," Nora added on, pointing at the orange-haired boy.

"I'm not a pet you can order around, Winchester," Jaune snapped, turning to address his friends. "I'm going to the gym. Can you tell the RWBY girls I'm sorry I couldn't come hang out today? I just...need some time alone," the blonde asked and Pyrrha nodded, watching her friend try to leave the room, just for Cardin to block his way.

"Hey, we're not done here," Cardin said, reaching for Jaune's arm but the shorter boy ripped it out of his grasp and stomped past him, shoving him roughly on the way past.

"Yes, we are," Jaune growled, not slowing down as he made his way down to the gym to hit things to work out his irritation.

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Jaune spent the better part of an hour in the simulation room, built to provide training for just about any situation imaginable. Jaune was attempting to fend off a holographic death stalker, hacking off the bulb of its tail before managing to finally pierce his sword into the creature's skull through its mouth. It didn't stop Jaune from trying to hack the simulation enemy into pieces before it faded, the entire room resetting into its default state.

"Winner: Jaune Arc. Would you like a rematch?" the computerised voice asked.

"Negative. Setting: Alpine environment. Enemy: Beowolf. Difficulty level: 75%," A voice called from the doorway to the simulation room before the walls and door faded and became a snowy mountain scene. Jaune turned around with a frown before his eyes opened in surprise.

"Professor Ozpin?" Jaune squeaked, almost dropping his sword but when a simulated Beowolf barrelled towards him with a piercing howl, he gripped the hilt of his sword tight and slashed at it, barely managing to twist out of its way.

"Pay attention," Ozpin called non-chalantly, Jaune letting out another yelp when a second and then a third Beowolf appeared, stumbling over the first one before attacking Jaune, one managing to hook its claws into his shield, ripping it from his grasp and the other slashing at him, scraping at his chestplate with a stomach lurching screech. They may be simulations but they are very realistic ones and were perfectly capable of injuring you on a high enough setting.

"Focus. Use your aura. Time your attacks," Ozpin said calmly, the beowolves ignoring him completely in favour of the blonde student they were attempting to rip into pieces and devour. Jaune grit his teeth, taking a defensive stance, waiting for the next strike. The first beowolf growled threateningly, pausing its movements before sprinting towards Jaune. The blonde spun out of the way, kicking snow into beowolf's face, his momentum helping bring his sword around to pierce through the back of its skull, finishing it with a small whimper as the monster fell to the ground in a heap, then vanished.

"Careful," Ozpin said simply and Jaune shouted in pain as he felt a set of fangs rip into his shoulder. He used his shield to break the beowolf's jaw with a sickening crack, forcing it to let go, whimpering while it back off to let its companion strike. The third went down as Jaune thrust his sword up into its mouth, then twisted it to split its skull.

He turned and stalked over to the previous one, still whimpering about its broken jaw, a slurred snarl coming from its throat as it tried to slash at Jaune. The boy slammed his shield into one of its paws, likely breaking it as well before pinning the other with his foot, his sword making a home in its chest before it finally went limp and then vanished.

"You have improved since your sparring with Mr Winchester in class. Immensely," Ozpin said, an impressed tone to his voice as the room returned to its previous state.

"Winner: Jaune Arc. Injury sustained during simulation. Contacting infirmary," the computer said monotonously.

"Negative. I'll take him there myself," Ozpin said, motioning to the door as it opened. "After you Mr. Arc," Professor Ozpin said politely. Jaune winced as he felt the weight of his shield on his injured shoulder, forcing it into its compact state again and clipping it to his belt, then sheating his sword.

"Am I in trouble?" Jaune asked nervously, collecting his duffle bag on his way out of the gym, using his spare shirt to staunch the blood. Of course the professor would choose a difficulty level high enough that if something hit you, it would actually cause damage.

"No, Mr Arc. The combat instructor showed...concern with your behaviour when you were using the simulation chamber. Said it seemed a little too emotionally unstable and upon observing your fight with the death stalker, I'm inclined to agree with him," the older man said, making Jaune hang his head in embarrassment as he walked beside the headmaster.

"So you're...checking on me?" Jaune asked, ignoring the looks students gave him as he walked, bloodied and sweaty, beside the headmaster of Beacon.

"Your fellow students have shown their concern as well. And there have been rumours concerning a certain interaction between you and Mr Winchester," Ozpin said, making Jaune tense, his eyes widening in fear.

"W-What kind of rumours?" Jaune asked nervously.

"Rumours concerning you punching Mr Winchester in the face outside of the dining hall after a very...personal interaction," Professor Ozpin said, finishing a little vaguely. Jaune blushed, feeling a little dizzy from the blood rushing to his head after the injury he'd received. "I don't wish to know the details but it would be best to keep those interactions private, wouldn't you agree?" the headmaster said, looking at Jaune with a quirked eyebrow.

"Y-Yes, sir," Jaune mumbled, the pair stopping outside of the infirmary. The professor nodded and turned to leave, pausing for a moment.

"One more thing, Mr Arc. Please attempt to sort things out with Mr Winchester soon. Your friends are very worried about you and as I'm to understand it, Mr Winchester seems very intent on destroying the school and terrorising the entire school population. I would appreciate it if you could sort it out before I have to stop him myself," Ozpin said in a way that sounded disturbingly like a threat. Jaune nodded again before entering the infirmary and immediately being fussed over by the medics.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Author's note-Thanks for so many positive reviews. I'm glad people are liking the story.

**_In response to the review from SonicBoost_**, I'm sorry you feel that way. I understand what you mean though, it did seem a bit of an overreaction, mostly because I had intended for Cardin's response to being 'rejected' (in his eyes anyway because he doesn't understand being pushed away as being anything else) to be a LOT more scathing with far more put downs towards Jaune, making his response of punching him to be a lot more well deserved.

I didn't end up managing that because I was in a bit of a rush while writing it and you guys definitely deserve better. I'll be editing the story so when this chapter goes up, that scene in chapter four will have been fixed, making Jaune's reaction at least a little more reasonable.

(Further responses to reviews from 'NotAlone' and 'ThisWasNice' will be at the end of this chapter)

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"Jaune! What happened to you?!" Ruby shrieked, seeing Jaune walk into team JNPR's room, his combat clothes still bloody and his shoulder bandaged. Both teams were sprawled out in team JNPR's room, just talking until Jaune had returned.

"Some intense training. Ozpin was there so nothing would have happened," Jaune said, sounding exhausted. "I'm gonna clean up and change, then I have to find Cardin," the blonde sighed, grabbing a black t-shirt and jeans.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? He's been really nasty since you and he fought," Pyrrha's brow furrowed in concern and she stood from her spot on her bed, looking at Jaune's shoulder herself. "He's been terrorising nearly every student and if there aren't any, he just throws or shoots things," she added. He brushed her off gently with a small nod.

"Yeah. Like you said earlier. We need to be adults. I need to suck it up and talk to him and he needs to stop acting like a child and quit throwing his tantrum," Jaune mumbled, going into the bathroom to try and clean himself up, trying to ignore the hushed whispers. Likely an explanation of the situation between Cardin and Jaune.

He quickly cleaned off the blood still staining his skin, careful not to jostle his shoulder too much, changing into the clean clothes and looking at his reflection. After a lot of thought while he was getting bandaged up and during his time in the simulation room, Jaune decided on how he should approach this, knowing he needed to not let himself be intimidated by Cardin. He needed to shock him into silence before he said anything. The blonde left the bathroom, everyone's eyes on him, as unpleasant as that was, before waving at them, telling them he'd see them at dinner as he left the room.

"If I were a douchebag torturing students, where would I be?" Jaune asked himself, looking around until he heard a familiar voice coming from the courtyard. He looked out the window in the hallway and down on the ground by the fountain was team CRNL, tormenting some faunus kids. Jaune jogged down to the courtyard, making his way over to the four young men picking on two faunus boys, seeing the sneers on their faces but not caring in the slightest.

"Arc?" Cardin said when he saw the blonde boy walking towards him. "Finally decided to stop acting like such a g-" the orange-haired boy was cut off when Jaune strode over to him, curled a hand around his neck and pulled him in for a rough kiss, silencing him. The kiss lasted for only a couple of moments before Jaune pulled back, a frown on his face.

"Shut up and listen. I'm _not _a girl and I'm _not_ some weakling you can push around. If you want a repeat of _that_ then you stop acting like such a dick and instead, act like a normal, civil human being," Jaune snapped at the taller boy, a stunned look on Cardin's face. Jaune turned to the faunus students, asking if they were alright and suggesting they move along while team CRNL was too stunned to do anything about it.

"Do you want to talk properly now?" Jaune asked, crossing his arms and Cardin nodded, remaining silent as he followed after the blonde until they were in an empty section of the courtyard, Jaune leaning against a wall while Cardin stood in front of him, arms crossed over his chest.

"So what are we going to do?" Cardin asked. "Hold hands between classes? Share milkshakes and give each other flowers?" the taller boy sneered but a dark look from Jaune shut him up immediately.

"I never said any of that. Like I said, quit acting like a dick. You're the one asking my friends how to 'get close to me' and how to be nice to me so I think its in your best interest to treat this conversation seriously. Or I could just walk away," Jaune threatened and Cardin just looked down at his shoes.

"I'm...I know I like you. I know that I like it when you're around but...I don't know. I've just always been like this. I'm an asshole, I know I am," Cardin said without a single ounce of regret in his tone.

"Well if you want this," Jaune said, motioning between the two of them, "to be a thing, then that's gonna have to change. Treating my friends like trash, treating _me _like trash and being awful to people that don't deserve it just because you're a close-minded douche is way beyond unattractive to me," the blonde crossed his arms and stared at Cardin.

"What, those faunus fre-"

"They aren't freaks. 'Different' doesn't mean 'freak'. That word shouldn't even exist. They look different but its not bad. I bet if you got to know them, you'd actually realise they're people, nice people, and not animals like you seem to think they are," Jaune snapped. Cardin bared his teeth a little with a quiet growl in his chest. "You're probably more of an animal than they are," Jaune added on, making Cardin immediately stop.

"So, what? Be nice to the fre-...faunus and play nice with your friends and you'll do what I want?" Cardin asked. Jaune shook his head.

"I never said that. Like I said. I'm not some weakling you can push around. This isn't me folding to your behaviour. This is me giving you a chance but that chance relies on whether or not I like you and I definitely don't think I like you when you act like _that_," Jaune said, pointing to where Cardin and his friends had been picking on the faunus students. "Or when you say things to me like you did earlier," he finished.

"I think we could actually have something nice. You seemed..._decent_ when you helped me with my books or in class with Oobleck or just when you asked if I was okay after I walked into you. _That's_ the kind of person I'd like. Not...this," Jaune explained. Cardin thought about it.

"I can...try. To be that. Nice, I mean," the taller boy said honestly and Jaune gave him a small smile.

"I look forward to seeing that. I'll see you at dinner then," the blonde said, patting Cardin lightly on the shoulder before making his way back to his dorm room.

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"How did it go?" Pyrrha asked when Jaune returned. Everyone had already started making their way down to the dining hall for dinner while Pyrrha opted to stay behind and wait for Jaune.

"Good. We're...giving this a test run. He's going to try to be nicer," Jaune said with a smile that Pyrrha returned.

"I'm glad. It will be a relief to have one less bully in this school and I'm proud of you for standing up for yourself. If he'd just forced you into something, I would have really broken his legs, you know," Pyrrha said as they made their way down to the dining hall. Jaune huffed quietly in laughter.

"I know."

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In response to NotAlone's review, due to rating constraints on fanfiction . net, there will be no lemon in this story on THIS WEBSITE, however, I do have an AO3 account so if there is any lemon (I'm not sure at the moment because I'm still in the process of writing this story) THE LEMON WILL BE ON AO3 and I will make sure to provide the link in that chapter.

To ThisWasNice, I sooo wish that Cardin would have some redeeming qualities. I need him to turn nice or something. I can't have him continue to be an asshole 'cause all characters need to have a willingness or at least a chance to redeem themselves. At the very least, I need an end-of-the-series chooses-the-right-side-in-the-big-fight kind of thing. I NEED JAUNE AND CARDIN TO BECOME FRIENDS!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Author's note-...It's so hard writing Cardin as anything other than a dick. Unless he's picking on other kids or breaking things or being a dick to Jaune, it's extremely out of character.

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The next few days showed a record low of bully activity, especially when it came to the faunus students. Jaune watched during class as Velvet and Cardin sat beside each other, the young girl pointing something out on the assignment they were paired together to work on while Cardin replied to her without the slightest hint of malice on his face. The blonde smiled and returned to his own work with Pyrrha, looking away just in time to miss when Cardin peered up from his work to watch Jaune as well.

When class was over, Jaune packed up his books and handed in the latest assignment, moving to leave the room and follow his friends to the dining hall when someone grabbed his hand and pulled him along, shoving him into a nearby closet, entering and closing the door behind them.

"You've got to stop grabbing at me, Cardin," Jaune said, rubbing at his wrist.

"You saw that, right?" Cardin asked, ignoring Jaune complaint. "That was 'nice'?" the orange haired boy asked for confirmation. Jaune nodded with a quirked eyebrow. He was being awfully direct and this was the first time Cardin has dragged him into a room. Not the first time he'd been grabbed after class but the first time he was taken somewhere private.

"Yeah, I saw. We should really go, we're going to be late for lunch," Jaune said, reaching for the door handle, just for Cardin to grab his wrist again, turning him around and pushing him up agaisnt the door. Jaune squeaked when Cardin smashed their lips together, a hand slipping under his shirt to splay over his lower back and force their bodies even closer together.

"Cardin!" Jaune squeaked as he pushed the older boy away with a little bit of a struggle. Cardin just looked irritated and a little confused. As if kissing Jaune out of the blue and groping at him was perfectly reasonable and Jaune's need for an explanation was insane and a waste of time.

"What, Arc?" the indigo eyed boy asked, not removing his hand from under Jaune's shirt until the blonde shoved it off himself.

"What are you doing?" he asked, making sure there was at least two feet between him and Cardin. "You can't just shove me against stuff and stick your tongue down my throat," he shrieked, waving his arms around animatedly.

"You said we could do this again if I was nicer, right? I've been nicer and I wanted to do this again, so what's the problem?" Cardin asked, crossing his arms. Jaune's eyes narrowed, looking at Cardin like he was from another planet.

"This isn't you getting a treat for being good. You're a person, not a dog," Jaune replied, picking up the book that he dropped when he'd been manhandled against the door. "You shouldn't be doing all this just to...get into my pants," Jaune muttered with a blush.

"So why should I be doing it?" Cardin inquired, looking Jaune up and down impatiently, his train of thought obviously on the why-aren't-we-rutting-against-the-door track.

"Because its how decent people act? It's wanting to do nice things, not just doing them for selfish reasons. Doing nice things just to get your way with someone else just makes them wrong," Jaune explained and Cardin just huffed in irritation.

"I told you. I'm not nice. I understand perfectly fine that I'm a dick and I'm fine with it. It's fun. The only reason I agreed to do these things is because its what you wanted so why else would I do them?" Cardin asked and Jaune just stood there, pulling on his hair in frustration.

"Explaining empathy or just basic human decency to you is like teaching a dog how to operate Ruby's scythe!" Jaune shouted, turning around and opening the closet door, just for Cardin to slam it shut again, keeping his hand against it to hold it closed. He loomed over Jaune with a light flush in his face, his jaw clenched and his eyes narrowed.

"What do I have to do to get you to like me?" Cardin snapped, the blonde frozen under his gaze.

"I-It's not that simple, Cardin. You can't just do a certain thing and I'll like you back. I have to like all of you. But with how you used to act and...and what you're doing right now? Scaring me and forcing me into things that I don't want-" Jaune started just for Cardin to cut him off.

"But you like it. The kissing and when I touch you. You look like you like it," Cardin argued. Jaune steeled his expression and gently wrapped his hand around Cardin's wrist, moving it away from the door.

"Not when you just grab me. You leave bruises. And not when you just attack me when you kiss. Y-You have to ask. Make sure its okay with the person you're kissing and not just...like that," Jaune explained. Cardin's hard expression melted a little as he regarded Jaune's hand around his wrist, shifting his own down a little to hold Jaune's hand in his, thumb stroking the back.

"Cardin, is this...Do you just want sex or do you actually have feelings for me?" Jaune asked and Cardin's jaw clenched again.

"I...I want sex," Cardin said quietly, Jaune pulling away at the words but the indigo eyed boy held fast. "But I don't want to upset you. I don't care about what I do to the others or how they feel about me. I don't like it when you're upset," Cardin finished quietly.

"So what was all the shoving and book-knocking and when you threw me in a rocket locker?" Jaune asked in confusion.

"Excuses to touch you? Hear you talk to me? Make you look at me? Take your pick," the taller boy shrugged his shoulders, refusing to meet Jaune's gaze, embarrassed at the disturbingly honest turn this conversation took.

"And when you insulted me the other day?" the blonde added, making Cardin flinch.

"When you pushed me away, it...hurt. I got angry and I just couldn't stop myself," he explained.

"Cardin, it's not like you're b-bad looking or anything," Jaune said quietly. "And I...I do like when you touch me but its this stuff I like, not the violent stuff," he finished, raising their joined hands slightly.

"So, if I'm more gentle...an-and nicer, you'll like me?" Cardin asked, bringing his other hand up to run his thumb over Jaune's chin and up his jaw to play with some of Jaune's messy blonde hair, making him shiver.

"It definitely wouldn't hurt," Jaune murmured, becoming a little too distracted by how close Cardin's lips were getting. There was a brief moment where Jaune thought the taller boy was going to pull away before Cardin brought their lips together in a soft and chaste kiss, the hand on Jaune's cheek tangling into his hair while the other rested on his hip, pulling him a little closer but still keeping some distance between them.

Jaune closed his eyes and leant into the kiss, the book in his hand slipping until it fell onto the floor with a clatter so his now-free hand could join the other in wrapping around Cardin's neck, pulling him closer and deepening the kiss.

Cardin was an asshole most of the time but his kissing left nothing to be desired.

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By the time they left the closet, lunch was over and Jaune was sufficiently disheveled with several hickeys on his neck that, with the help of a slightly raised collar, would hopefully not be noticed by his friends.

"So, are we...you know, together now?" Cardin asked, crowding Jaune against the wall by the closet with his fingers intertwinted with Jaune's.

"I don't know. Are you going to try to be less of a dick?" Jaune replied and Cardin just shrugged his shoulders.

"Guess its better than nothing," Jaune said with a sigh, shutting up when Cardin pulled him in for another kiss. "Alright," Jaune squeaked after they pulled away. "We'll be together. Just...be nicer for me until you learn to just do it on your own," Jaune said teasingly, giving Cardin's hand a light squeeze before he pulled away, rushing to his next class.


End file.
